Melting pot!

	"Life is sacred. Celebrate life. Care for others and share whatever you have with those less fortunate than you. Deepen your roots and Broaden your vision  for the whole world belongs to you."  - His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Bhanu Didi @ Silver Jubilee

	Bhanu Didi (Centre) - Guruji's sister - on the Art of Living Silver Jubilee stage.

Huge Stage!

This is just the stage of the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations! Art of Living Silver Jubilee stage was 3.5 acres and, at a time, it accommodated 10000 people including a South Indian Orchestra (Karnatic Music) of 3800 musicians!! Others on the stage included 1000 saints, spiritual & religious leaders and dignitaries from India and around the world. Dignitaries included Kings, (ex of present) presidents, prime ministers of various countries, governors, chief ministers of many states.

One World Family!

Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations - Spiritual Olympics

- were attended by people 2.5 million people from more than 140 countries. Translations into 42 languages were happening simultaneously during these splendid celebrations.

Watch out this space as I will be uploading more photos and interesting info regarding the Art of Living Silver Jubilee.
I have taken some of these photos with kind permission from my friend Matt Theilen.

http://www.nomadfoto.com/aol/index.htm

Earlier this was posted at http://artofliving.rediffiland.com/blogs/2006/02/28/One-World-Family-.html

Musical Symphony @ Art of Living Silver Jubilee!

Every day there was a musical symphony of 3800 musicians at the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations held at Jakkur Airfield, Bangalore. Imagine 750+ Veenas, 700+ Tablas, 500+ Mrudangams, violins, 20 keyboards etc playing at a time!






Earlier this was posted at http://artofliving.rediffiland.com/blogs/2006/02/28/Musical-Symphony-Art-of-Living-Silver-Jubilee-.html

Vedic Boys @ Art of Living Silver Jubilee

Art of Living Vedic School students on the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Stage.

Mystery!

Following are the words from Ratna Swaroop, an Art of Living teacher from Andhra Pradesh, who taught a basic to my sister and brother-in-law in the first half of Feb 2006.

Dear Mr Krishna,
Jai Gurudev.
As soon as I came back from the Art of Living Silver Jubilee, one long pending technical
problem got solved on its own with in a week.
One of the Ammonia refrigiration compressor was not running properly for
the last 7 months. (ie since Aug 2005) I am working as Sr.
Manager-Instrumentation in Nagarjuna Fertilizers, Kakinada and I am held
responsible for ensuring smooth running of this compressor along with
Mechanical & Operations dept. How ever there was more pressure on me to
deliver results, as Eevery one felt it was an instrumentation problem.
Believe me, no one has diagnosed the problem properly and we did nothing
from Instrumentation, but compressor was running smoothly, giving relief to
me and the top management. It was a real mystery.

Regards
Swaroop

By Krishna Reddy | 16:12 | 27/Feb/2006

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Incredible India Trip!

Experiences from India: Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebration - Barry Rosen The India trip was incredible and challenging but in the end it was a wonderful life transforming event. It took about 42 hours door to door to get to India and we landed and stayed in a 4 star hotel to make the transition to rural country life. When we arrived at the ashram, we found that 2000-3000 extra people decided to attend the last minute and many of them from 145 countries around the world did not bother to confirm that they were coming. Sri Sri, immediately took them in creating an unexpected last minute housing shortage at the ashram despite months of planning . The international center has about 3500 beds and additional dormitory space on the floor and by the time we were registering, there was no space left at the Inn with over 7000 people. The housing team scrambled the last minute to find accommodations near by. This was a reminder of the Italy course in 2000 when 1500 people got housed in 50 hotels around the city--many of them getting put in the wron g places. It is part of the Divine play to shake us up, transform our expectations. Given that we are now doing disaster relief around the world, we need to know how to work with chaos and the US full-time teachers stood up to the challenge and did an amazing job. One could sense the humor of the whole thing even if it was not initially funny. But most importantly it is a reminder that we have to be flexible, move beyond our expectations and be solid to move with whatever is happening in our life. The relative world is always changing! There were 5000 people on the Part 2 course in a huge amphitheatre tent that was quite comfortable despite the size and the course was nice although there were limitations on what we could do. One day the young children from the school, who were studying the Vedic rites, did a ceremony for us Satsang in the evening was magnificent an another outdoor amphitheatre overlooking Visha Mantap, a seven story round marble meeting hall which is the jewel of the ashram. Countries from around the world performed their own ethnic dances and the energy was quite high. Dining and food service were well organized and I never waited more than a few minutes to eat tasty south Indian meals. All in all, the ashram managed to handle the crowds and the feeling of love at the ashram and holiness was very deep and healing and soothed over whatever minor challenges there were. When it came time to get people into town, 200 buses lined up orderly and got people back. Traffic was never t oo bad and despite fears of very long round trip bus rides, many times it even took only an hour to get back to the ashram-- a true miracle! The Silver Jubilee celebration was quite spectacular and beyond belief. Held on an unused India Airfield called, Jakar, there were 2-2.8 million people at times over the 3 days. Afternoons were spent at shopping stalls and watching ethnic dancers from around the world . The main program occurred about 6:30 pm each evening. Despite the enormous amount of people, we were always cared for. International attendees had a VIP entrance and parking lot so we did not have far to walk and there were less crowds.. We also had special seating near the front. When you looked back, it seems like there was a sea of people going back about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile. There were 77 theatre sized TV screens and an excellent sound system and the 20,000 volunteers did an amazing jobs getting everyone in and out without and hassles. VIP food courts were also very well run and despite the crowds, there was never a sense of waiting or hassle or crowds. The stage was specially built and had about 7500 VIPs on it including an orchestra of 3800 musicians--mostly playing Indian instruments. Over the three days great political and religious leaders spoke including the President of India, the Head of the Supreme Court of India, the former prime ministers from the Netherlands and France, the King of Ghana and a host of Indian governors. Rabbi's, Catholic priests, Buddhist and Muslim priests all gave glowing accolades to the Art of Living for their service work around the world. The theme of One World Family echoed in every speech and was indeed a reality with 145 countries represented speaking 44 languages. The group kriya together ended up starting at 6 pm and ended up being a short kriya led live by Sri Sri. The effect was rather profound. For me, I felt my whole forehead and crown chakra vibrating and moving into a more solidified state. The man next to me felt that his whole being became this flame of light that merged into a huge ocean of flames Afterwards, Sri Sri said that we should make one realistic wish that night and it would come true. The final day was most magical ending with a video montage of all the world dance troupes performing with cuts to a live dance troupe on stage performing. The effect was indeed to create one world family. Many leaders remarked at the incredible leadership and dedication from the Art of Living to put such an orderly and beautiful performance together and to manage so many people with ease and order. Toward the end of each evening when 2 million people sang and danced , there was indeed an incredible melding and Oneness and Unity that filled the crowd. For me it was a life-transforming experience. The new solidity and grace and joy that flowed through me and that has stayed with me suggests a more profound inner transformation that occurred. And I think it was also reminded of the profound organization that we really are. I also became aware that I really have family in all parts of the world and seeing them all there from courses over the past 15 years was a joyful reminder that I am connected to the One World family and that the world is much larger and more beautiful than the terrorism and violence we see on TV. For the first time, we had people there from Mainland China and Iraq and Iran and Taiwan and Lebanon and Mongolia and Sri Sri made a point of calling them all up to the stage to sing and dance together. One beautiful man from Iraq summarized the experience beautifully when he said, I do not know who I am or why I am here but the fullness of my heart does not need to know as it can experience this profo und love without having to analyze it. It is really beyond words to intellectualize or express the feeling and love level of One World family but it was a very rich and real experience that suddenly expands one beyond the very small boundaries of ones race, religion and national identity and creates a bigger sense of belongingness. One speaker noted, 60% of the people there were in there 20's and 30's and that does give us hope for the future and hope for creating a permanent sense of change in a troubled world and it was clear that the group kriya sent waves of coherence around the world broadcasting this once in a lifetime and once in many life times. . It took me 53 hours to get home door to door, but it did not matter as I spent more and more time in the present moment with a new sense of the global humanity that we are. Symbolically, on the plane home, I watched a wonderful French film and Golden Globe Nominee called, Merry Christmas, which was about German, French and Scottish troops coming out of their opposing ditches to celebrate Christmas together in 1914 and that it was spurred by a German opera start/soldier singing Christmas songs. . The movie was based on a true story and was very moving as the troops realized that they were indeed brothers and had the same problems and they were wondering why they were fighting each other and ultimately, they realized that it did not make sense and that their war was dictated by some power mongers that could not get along. Indeed music can be a beautiful means of bridging cultural gaps and uniting people together in song and more than ever I appreciate this aspect of th e Art of Living and the 3800 member orchestra and the group singing certainly exemplified this at times. When I arrived in Phoenix, it was seasonally cold in the 50's but refreshing and I felt like running, leapiing, laughing and dancing through the cool desert silence. -- Barry Rosen Sedona, AZ By Krishna Reddy | 11:45 | 27/Feb/2006 Permalink

Where "I" dissolved!

Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations - where "I" dissolved.

From Preeti Prabhu
Subject:
He called me for the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations, so I went. (But my mind was chattering
constantly, trying to find "good" reasons etc) Envied my husband who
had no dilemmas whatsoever. Who did not wait to get opinions. Applied
for leave, got his flight tickets, just sat happily and waited. I am
back now and every cell filled with contentment and gratitude.

Since I hail from Bangalore I thought an event of this magnitude would
be a tough challenge for the city to say the least. If one VIP comes
there, traffic arrangements go haywire. There were millions yet I do
not recollect our bus ever getting delayed due to traffic congestion!
The traffic flowed smoothly - and all of it flowed to jakkur !

When I saw the rows and rows and endless rows of thousands of buses
lined up at the Jakkur airfield it really brought tears to my eyes.
How was it all happening ?!

The people - from the poorest of villages to the richest of countries.
From babies a few months old to people with walking sticks everyone
had gathered there for the love of one!

Heard "Jai Gurudev!" in many many accents and exchanged smiles in the
one universal language of love.

The stage was so huge you had to see it to believe it. If you stood
right opposite the stage, you still needed powerful binoculars to see
anybody on it ! And the venue was so stupendiously huge that when we
got off at first, this huge stage was not visible !

In Ashtavakra Gita Guruji tells a story of how once thousand people
were meditating in the presence of Bhuddha, and there was pin drop
silence. The king happened to pass by and he was so moved that he
became a disciple of Bhuddha. Everytime I heard that, I used to wonder
what it would be like to meditate like that. Now I know. Around
sunset, with cool breeze blowing all around came the divine voice of
Guruji, So Hum ! I felt I was alone. I felt the oneness and the peace.
I felt the infinite blessing of the Lord!

And it was a delight to watch him as usual, playful and smiling like
nothing was happening! What would be impossible to achieve for any
single body with a million trained armymen perhaps, he had achieved
with men of no formal training. With those who only had their hearts
filled with love. And this love brought forth the commitment and
everything else that was required!

A million thanks to all the volunteers of Bangalore and everywhere
else who made this event such a big success. Who let his love flow
through them and made his vision a reality.

A million zillion pranams to Guruji for doing only what his great love
for each and every one of us can do !

Some photos of the event by Sriram here
http://www.artofliving.org.sg/aol-sjc-photos/index.html

Jai Gurudev !
Preeti

Celebration Time!

Celebration time for all of us on this planet By K.Balu Jai Gurudev. The whole world it appeared was waiting for the ART OF LIVING SILVER JUBILEE celebrations to happen at Bangalore from 17th to 19th February 2006.I am just giving a bird`s eye view of all that happened on those 3 wonderful days. I left from Chennai on 15th February to be one day ahead.The Bangalore mail left Chennai with lots of devotees.My compartment had a majority of Aolites from West Bengal.They were all wearing their ID cards and badges which made it easy to communicate to them that we are all of the same family. The music troupe from Chennai was also travelling by the same train.As the train reached Bangalore very early in the cold morning we had enough time to chat with some but every one was so eager to reach the site of the celebration,Jakkur airfield. The information counter volunteers at the city station informed that buses had been arranged from the 17th morning from all points of the city. On the 17th morning we left by the first bus from Baswehwaranagar where I stayed with my brother.All the first trip buses left at the same time by 10am.By the time we reached Jakkur airfield the Morning vedic ceremony was in full swing and we could just hear the chants since we could not enter the pandal due to the heavy crowd.We satisfied our appetite by other means,ice creams and so on. The afternoon food was almost like a working lunch and though there was a very heavy crowd it was managed with all the ease of the usual AOL volunteer,no fuss, no shouting no nothing.Wonderful and affectionate though under very heavy strain. The evening function was compered by Vikram Hazra.The crowd must have been several lakhs and I was satisfied sitting near a TV screen.There were several TV screens and it was possible to view every programme without hindrance. On the second day,the crowd was still more.I reached home only at 2 am or so.Anyway my energy level was so high and never felt tired .On an average we would have walked almost 10kms daily. On the grand MahaKriya day 19th February,Gurudev started with the usual Ujjai breathing,Bhastrica and finally the Kriya.His words were so affectionate , tears started flowing down my cheeks for no reason. The dance and music programme afterwards was all splendour.I am sure some one else will write about it. On the 20th February was the day of Rudra abisheka and we all reached the Ashram at 11 am.The Rudra abisheka was also performed at Jakkur but since we reached home very late on the previous day we prefered to go to the Ashram instead of Jakkur. After the rudraabisheka was over by 1.00pm the bhajans started.Many in the pandal swayed to the delightful music,Shiva Om and several other compositions.We all prayed that Guruji should come there and suddenly it was announced that Guruji was coming there and within a few moments it was announced again that Guruji was not coming there.Of course Guruji was at Jakkur in the evening in all his splendour and divinity.I know something inside me has changed after the great event.So it would have been for the several lakhs who congregated there on those eventful days.Thank you Guruji. Jai Gurudev. K.Balu.Chennai.

Scuba Diver from Egypt

I met Mostafa Helal, who runs a Scuba diving school and resort while he was in the queue at the juice centre. Then he asked what is the meaning of "Jai Guru Dev". People asked him "Did you not do the basic course?" He said he had done but he didn't know its meaning. Some people gave him brief answers. Then I offered to answer. Then we went to amphitheatre(See the photo above) to discuss this. I gave him the following explanation. "Gu,inSanskrit, means darkness, Ru means light. Guru means the one who dispels darkness by throwing light. Guru need not be a person. It is the consciousness, the Divinity, that is there in you. You need a Guru in physical form to show you the light that you are! Jai Guru Dev means Victory be to this Guru Tatva, your very nature. So when I say Jai Guru Dev to you I mean I bow down to the Divinity that is there in you. Similary when you say Jai Guru Dev, you bow down to the God in me." Incidentally we use Jai Guru Dev to mean many things! - Hi, Good Morning, Bye, Good Night. Some times we use these magical words when nothing else works!! Then Mostafa went on to share his experience with AoL. Hi ..I am a singer and guitarist from Egypt and an Ex boxer...so that makes me very Passionate and Hi tempered when provocked. With all the stress in busy Cairo..and the trafic I had a fight in the street every once and a while..I took the art of living 1..it didn't only help me calm down but, it helped me fill in lots of blanks be more in control of my temper. I took level 1 - 4 times and level 2 twice..there is a learning every time for those who want to learn. AOL helps me also focus when praying, so, it is a great thing to be added into ones life..

Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam!

From Sachin Nayak

I am Sachin Nayak from Mumbai, Maharashtra. I am in computer business for last seven years and during this I was introduced to the ‘Art of Living’ by a friend who is indeed now a very best friend.

The first time I had seen the photo of Poojya Guruji on Internet on the web site www.aol.org I got attracted by Him. That day I decided to join the Art of Living. I did my basic course in the year 2003 and then my journey of Art of Living began. In coming years I had my Advance Course, Sahaj Samadhi Meditation and DSN course. During this courses I learnt the real essence of life, Art of meditation and reposing of self.

Then come the biggest mega event in my life that was the Silver Jubilee celebration of the Art of living. I was preparing for the function right from three months. I had to make all the arrangement well in advance I had applied to go to Bangalore Ashram fifteen days in advance for doing seva and luckily I was fortunate enough to come to Bangalore Ashram thanks to my beloved teacher who made all the arrangements right from tickets to Accommodation.

Doing seva in ashram was a wonderful experience to me. There was lot of seva activities going on for the Silver Jubilee Celebration and Guruji’s 50^th birthday. All the seva warriors were working day and night to make the function a grant success. Of course with the grace of Guruji all was very, very easy. At last the day arrived on 17^th Feb 2006 the day when silver jubilee celebrations started. I was up by 4:00 am had bath, did my kriya and rocketed myself to the venue at Jakkur Airfield. It was a huge ground with people all over. In the morning there was Homa, Yagya and Ganesh Pooja. There were lots of stalls with all varieties of foodstuff and other all items available. It was looking like a fair. In the evening there was the ground inauguration ceremony. 20 lac people witnessed the occasion. All the Sants, Mahatmas, Swamis from all around the world had come to grace the occasion. Sant Shri Asaramji Bapu, Ramdevji Maharaj and other prominent saints from Maharashtra and other places of the world made speeches, which were really uplifting the spirits of the people who were gathered there. The kings, presidents and other prominent dignitaries from the world had gathered to shower their feeling of love and oneness i.e. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. Some of them shared their feeling about Art of Living is doing round the clock for millions of people. It is indeed the Art of living, which has spread smiles on millions of people around the world in this 25 years.

Many prominent dignities from Bangalore had arrived for the function. Tshe governor of Karnataka had made a short but very amiable speech. Former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh Shri Chandrababu Naidu made an overwhelming speech and discussed about the work Art of Living foundation is doing and necessity of this course of Art of Living to be implemented. On 19^th of Feb, the Honourable President of India Dr Abdul Kalam attended the function. He was delighted to see more than a million people from around the globe, who were sitting in front of him. In his speech, he explained the necessity of implementing meditation with human values and uplifting of people from religion to spirituality and enormously affecting the life of people. He also took oath from all the people gathered there to follow the principle to make this world a real better place to live.

Last but not the least there was the beautiful song sung by participants from around the globe ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumsakam, One world family’. It is indeed the one world family the belongingness, the love among all of us, which has brought us together. It is none other than POOJYA POOJYA SRI SRI RAVISHANKARJI, OUR BELOVED GURUJI, who has made it possible.

Lots of thanks and Pranams to my beloved Guruji.

Jai Gurudev.

By Krishna Reddy | 21:11 | 25/Feb/2006

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Connection

From Jyoti Trivedi I work with LIC as ABM sales and Jan, Feb & March are the heavy months for business and taking 8 days leave in feb is a totally impossible thing in our corporation. There was a wedding in the family exactly on 17th 18th 19th of Feb coinciding with the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations. I was really caught in this dicey situation and didn't know what to do? How to open my mouth and tell my parents that I wished to go to Banglore then guruji came to Mumbai in Dec 2005 and I prayed to him and immediately booked my tickets and also enrolled for the accommodation in a resort close to Jakur. Slowly I told my mother that I had made all arrangement to go to Banglore. To my utter surprise my parents immediately agreed to allow me to go to Banglore. 1st hurdle was crossed I had to get my leave sanctioned from my office. My boss was initially resisting the sanction of leave but on explaining to him the importance of AOL in my life he sanctioned my leave. I was amazed at the grace of guruji and really enjoyed the silver jubilee celebration, which was a mind-blowing experience, and I am fully established in myself and connection to guruji has achieved a new dimension. I am sure that I will do things, which I never imagined, and will be wholeheartedly involved in furthering bonds of love & affection of this Vasudev Kutumbakam.

As a witness!

From Dipika Modi

I am fortunate to be very close to guruji physically as I stay in the ashram since last 4 years. Art of Living Silver Jubilee was the only celebration up till now where I was sitting much far of from guruji in the crowd and watching him sometimes on screen and of times on the stage. This made me realize that our family is so big and guruji being so far away to yet He was so close to me. I felt this because people all around me irrespective of caste or creed or age had the same love and respect for guruji as I have for him. There was many pairs of eyes in different forms but one consciousness.

I had always been a part of celebration as a sevak but this is the 1^st time I have seen a part of this celebration as a observer and I am grateful to Guruji to give me this opportunity of enjoying each and every moment and carry the message of love and belonging in my life whereever I go.

World Conference: Science, Consciousness and Spirituality

From Dr. Vinod Kochupillai Head, Cancer Centre, All India Instiute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. This conference will be held at AIIMS New Delhi, as part of the Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations. Scientific quest for sprituality continues. It is a kind of journey, a long journey towards unknown. While on a journey, one needs to make stops every now and then to ensure the correct path for one's forwad journey. We had first stop in 2002 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where we discover the scientific studies related to Sudarhsan Kriya (SK) and Pranayam(P). SK is a rhythmic breathing, where 3 different rhythms are followed in a cyclical fashion. This process is a discovery made by H. H. Sri Sri Ravishankar. It is a powerful process, which eliminates stresses out of our body making our body and mind healthier. Many diseases are eliminated. Research studies done at AIIMS have confirmed that SK and P allow us to be relaxed and yet alert at the same time. These breathing processes improve our immune system and antioxidant defence. Thus those who regularly practice SK and P live a healthier and happier life. These research findings were discovered during international conference held at AIIMS in 2002. This research was highly inspiring. We are holding a world conference on Sciences, Consciousness and spirituality on 24th and 25th Feb 2006. More than 40 scientists from all over the world shall make their research presentations. This is going to be highly inspiring and thought provoking conference. Presentations will be on research being carried out at genetic level where changes have occured at DNA and RNA level after regular practice of SK and P. Also scientists will discuss how Art of Living (AOL) workshops have helped people recover from various illnesses. Conference will take place Siri Fort auditorium at New Delhi on 24th and 25th Feb 2006. For furher details please contact Dr. Vinod Kochupillai at 0091-11-26589821 or 0091-9811202944.

Art of Living Silver Jubilee: Mind blowing Celebrations!

The Art of Living Silver Jubilee Celebrations are simply mind blowing. There are so many exciting things happening. I am currently tied up with the International Conference on Human Values and other events. As soon as I get time, I will get back to you sharing some glimpses of this momentous occasion that is going to change the mankind forever.
Lots of love.

Guruji's Message on Silver Jubilee

The following are the Direct words from GURU DEV!


"It is not just a celebration. Its the day world will change and embark on a new era.
Thousands of Gods and Goddesses will be there to bless eveyone present there and all the wishes will come true. There will be healing of diseases and relationships. Don't worry about money and about hurdles of coming as these days will look after liftetimes ahead. Its just not a celebraion of three days. It is a celebraion which will remain in your consciousness for liftetimes, for whoever will be physically present there. Nothing in the world is worth missing out Art of Living Silver Jubilee function."


For Art of Living Silver Jubilee Schedule, click on http://www.silverjubilee.org/Programs.asp

For those who can not be physically present, there is a live telecast on Sasnkar etc channels.